Two Lanarkshire men win £10k a month in National Lottery’s ‘Set for Life’ draws this summer

Two lucky men from Lanarkshire are both set to receive £10,000 each month for a whole year after matching the five main numbers in separate National Lottery Set For Life draws on September 26 and July 21.

Neither lucky Lanarkshire winner, golf enthusiast Malcolm Garden, aged 54 from Lanark nor family man Robert Brownlie, 43, from North Lanarkshire, could believe their luck when they discovered they had won their fantastic prizes, both having bought Set For Life Lucky Dip tickets - Malcolm online and Robert (known as Rabbie) having bought his ticket from a shop.

Malcolm, a senior manager in clinical data management, was shocked when he woke up to an email notifying him of not one, not two, but three wins – with the third meaning he would receive £10,000 into his bank account every month for the next year.

Malcolm said, “When I opened the National Lottery app I saw three messages, one with a £20 win, another was £25, which was good news, but I couldn’t find the third one. It was then that I realised I had won the £10,000 a month for a year prize with my Lucky Dip.”

After the news had started to sink in, Malcolm phoned his close childhood friend who assumed it was a ‘trick’ and didn’t believe him at first. Eventually, after realising it was genuine the friends organised a celebratory dinner, ordering the finest champagne and lobster at a local Italian restaurant to mark the occasion.

For the majority of Malcolm’s career he has lived in California where he worked for 25 years before returning to Lanark in March 2020. Since returning he has recently bought a new house and is looking to do some renovation work.

When talking about how he plans to spend his winnings, Malcolm said: “I bought a new house a few weeks before the win so the money will go towards some practical things like new windows and plumbing costs.

“However, I’m also looking to arrange a trip to Portugal with some friends and turn it into a golfing holiday. Only thing is I need my golf clubs from America first – they didn’t make it back with me when I moved back to Scotland!”

Husband and father to four boys - Tye, Max, Noa and Ami - and a husky named Echo, Robert Brownlie, who works as a storeman, decided to buy his Set For Life Lucky Dip ticket while he was at a wedding in England. It wasn’t until he returned to Scotland that he checked his National Lottery ticket at the local shop.

He said: “While I was at the shop buying a bottle of wine for my wife (Kelly), I decided to get some of my tickets checked and one said I needed to call up to check the prize. After I found out I had won and, importantly, what I’d won, I rushed home to tell my wife and kids.

“From this point my winning ticket didn’t leave my side. It was always in my wallet and even came on a trip to Tenerife and back until it was officially validated. There was no way I was going to let myself misplace it.”

Robert explained that his family have already planned how his winnings will be spent, with his sons hoping for some financial help towards their cars. The family are also planning to go on a relaxing holiday to Mexico next summer.

He added, “We need to get some new things for the house, mainly thanks to our husky who’s just over two-years-old. She’s still enjoying causing mischief and has chewed away at our sofa and table – so they will be replaced!”

Malcolm’s winning ‘Match 5’ numbers for the Set for Life draw on Monday September 26 were 11, 21, 25, 28 and 39. The Life Ball was 06.

Robert’s winning ‘Match 5’ numbers for the Set For Life draw on Thursday July 21 were 08, 24, 26, 37 and 43. The Life Ball was 10.

‘Set For Life’ is a game from The National Lottery that offers a top prize of £10K a month for 30 years when the five main numbers and the Life Ball are matched.

Players can win £10K a month for a whole year by matching the five main numbers - which is what Malcolm and Robert won.

At national-lottery.co.uk, players can buy tickets for all of The National Lottery’s draw-based games including Set for Life, Lotto, EuroMillions and Thunderball.

The National Lottery players funds £30M to community projects across the UK. To date, over £46billion has been raised for National Lottery Good Causes, with more than 670,000 individual grants awarded.